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To start with financial gain hadn’t been the driving force behind their venture. It had been a welcome by-product, sure, but more important to Nikos had been utilising his business brain, taking Philippos’s brilliant idea and turning it into a workable product. That was where the real satisfaction had lain for him.
But his ill-fated trip to New York had changed all that. Fiona O’Connor had immediately mercilessly exposed his naiveté about money, throwing his gullibility back in his face. She had made her pitifully low opinion of him abundantly clear and Kate had done absolutely nothing to back him up.
Because money did matter—Nikos knew that now. Money equalled power. And power meant that you had one hundred percent control over your own life. That no one could look down on you. No one could tell you that you weren’t good enough. He might have come from a lowly background, and his own mother might not have wanted him, but money had meant he could rise above all that, invent a new persona. Money made you strong.
So Nikos had returned to Crete and set about making the fledgling business take off with a zeal that had bordered on the manic, pushing himself harder and harder, neglecting everything and everyone else in order to achieve his goal.
He had pushed Philippos too—something he now bitterly regretted. He had been part genius, part oddball, and Nikos should never have driven his friend so hard—never have bullied him into working faster, staying focussed. The sudden drive to make them both billionaires had been solely Nikos’s obsession, and of no interest to the quiet and introspective Philippos.
But the business had taken off and the money had rolled in. And finally the power that Nikos had been seeking had been his. He had made it. And no one was ever going to make him feel unworthy again.
Least of all Kate O’Connor.
The problem was, she was making him feel a lot of other things... Nikos rubbed an impatient hand around the back of his neck. Faced with her again, he found he was battling all the same impulses, all the same desires. Bringing Kate back into his life had opened up all sorts of old wounds—wounds he’d convinced himself had long since healed. And he only had himself to blame. He’d been the one to set this whole thing up. If he’d done it as some sort of unconscious test then he was failing miserably. And that was something he needed to put right before they went any further.
One thing was for sure: he wouldn’t be baring his heart and soul again. He’d made that mistake once—never again. Ignoring his own set-in-concrete rules, he had offered Kate his love, his lifelong commitment. And what had she done in return? Ripped them to shreds and tossed them back in his face like worthless garbage. Kate had taught him a hard lesson—one he would never forget.
Now, as he covertly studied her from beneath half-closed eyes, Nikos could see the effort it was taking for her to politely clap along to the rowdy music, the forced half-smile on her face. She was hating this every bit as much as him. Well, good. It served her right.
Once he would have died for Kate O’Connor. Without a second’s hesitation and without a heartbeat of doubt. Once she had meant everything to him. Now he had to guard against her power over him. He had to remember the reason they were here. Kate had been hired to serve a purpose, as a means to an end. That was all.
But the attraction was as strong as ever—Nikos couldn’t deny that. Overwhelming, in fact. He could feel it like a pulse in his blood, raw and elemental, a carnal thrust that he couldn’t contain. The thought of taking her to his bed was consuming him more and more, growing like a spreading stain.
But if it were to happen—and Nikos made himself emphasise the word if—then it would be strictly on his terms. That was a certainty.
Taking a sip of champagne, he set the glass down and pushed it away. Maybe instead of fighting the attraction he should be looking at it the other way. He now had Kate exactly where he wanted her. Whether it was by chance or through his own subliminal plotting, what did it matter?
No, not exactly where he wanted her. Nikos stole another glance. Where he wanted her wasn’t here, in this crowded room full of inebriated businessmen being entertained by ludicrously dressed dancers. He wanted to be alone somewhere. Just him and her and enough time to make that really count.
